Rotary explosive-engine.



P. D. HIBNER.

ROTARY EXPLOSIVE ENGINE. APPLlcATloN FILED 1uLY24|1916.

1,242,693, Patented Oct. 9,1917.

3 sHEEs-SHEETI.

P D. HIBNER.

ROTAR EXPLOSIVE ENGINE. APPLlcAloN man 1uLY24.1916.

1,242,693 Patented oet. 9,1917.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

P. D. HIBNER.

ROTARY ExPLoslvE ENGINE.

APPLICATlON FILED JULY 24.1916.

Patented Oct. '9, 1917.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

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PHILIP D. HIBNEB, SEATTLE, WAHIIi'lGJ!0N'.V

Speoioation of Letters Patent.

Patenteaoet. e, ier?.

Application illed July 24, 1918. Serial No. 110,824.

render the same more eilicient in operation and more economical in the consumption of fuel.

rllhe invention consists in the novel features of construction, and combination thereof, as will be hereinafter described and claimed.

An embodiment of my invention isshown in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a transverse vertical section of the engine; Fig. 2 is a longitudinal-section thereof; and Figs. 3 and 4 are views similar to Fig. 1 of a portion of the engine, and illustrating operating parts in dierent positions. i

rifhe engine has a casing 5 which 1s bored or otherwise machined to provide a circular chamber 6 or cylinder, as it will be hereinafter designated. Said cylinder is provided in its peripheral wall with a fuel admission port 7 which also serves as the explosion chamber of the engine, and diametrically opposite, or nearly so, to such port the cylinder is provided yvlth an outlet port 8 which communicates with an exhaust pipe 9. Rotatably fitted within the cylinder is a cylindrical wheel or rotor 10 which is keyed or otherwise fixedly secured to a te shaft 11 extending axially through the cylinder. The rotor 10 is provided with a peripheral groove or recess 12 extending between shoulders 13 and 14:1 which are dis posed in inclined relations to planes radial of the. rotor axis, and the surface forming the bottom 15 of said recess is formedconcentric to such axis.

16 represents an abutment of a width equal to the distance between the side walls 17 of the rotor recess 12 and is connected from one of its ends to a pivotal pin 18 provided in the explosion chamber 7. The

abutment is operable by means of the gas pressures obtaining within said explosion chamber coperating' With the cam action eected by the periphery of the rotor. To

minimize the friction ensuing between said abutment and the rotor, a stop 19 provided in the chamber 7 serves to` limit thel inner travel of the abutment by encountering the same as the abutment enters the rotor recess.

To make a non-leakable connection be tween the periphery of the rotor and said abutmennl provide a packing piece 20 in a transverse slot of the abutment and which is yieldingly held against the rotor by spring 22.

ln. operation, the packing piece tracks upon the rotor periphery and as the inclined shoulders or portions 13 and 14 pass the abutment, the' latter is thereby successively swung outwardly or inwardly with respect to the rotor axis.- Adjacent to the outlet port 8 is a second abutment 23 Whose office is to direct the gaseous explosive products into the exhaust pipe. rFhis abutment 23 which is hingedly connected to a pin 24 is,

like the aforesaid abutment 16, provided with a spring-pressed packing piece 25 and is yieldingly held in operative position with respect to the rotor through the agency of a plunger 26 which is itself inuenced by a spring 27.

A pipe 28 leading from asource or reservoir of fuel, or explosive mixture, supplied under suitable pressure, communicates through passages 29 and 30 with the explosion chamber For regulating the charges of fuel supi plied to the engine, there is provided a rocker valve 31 having a duct 32 therein to a'ord upon occasion, communicative connectionbetween said passages. The valve 31 is provided with another duct 33 which serves to admit air under pressure from a pipe 34: into the cylinder for expelling and cleaning the same of the burnt gases subsequent to an explosion. Said valve may be operatedy by means of any suitable driving mechanism, as by providing an arm 35 on the spindle 36 of the valve, and which arm is actuated by means of a cam 37 upon the engine shaftor a suitably driven intermediate shaft, through the medium of a push rod 38 and in opposition to a spring such as 39 (Fig. 2) tending to hold the rod in operative engagement with the cam. lnstead of having the rod 38 bear directly f against the cam, an anti-friction roller 40 ics when the latter is being moved from or out of operative positions with respect to both the air and fuel supplies, but to hold the valve at rest for a short period while the fuel or gas is being admitted to the engine.

41 represents a sparking plug extending into the explosion chamber. 42 is a space for cooling water in the engine casing about the cylinder and the valve chamber and is provided with inlet 'and delivery connections 43 and 44 for the How of water to and from the space 42. l

The operation of the invention is as follows:

Assuming the rotor 10 is in the position in which it is represented in Fig. 3, the abutment 16 will be elevated by the packing piece. 20 being held outwardly by being on the peripheral portion 151 of the rotor. While said parts occupy Such positions, the valve 31 will be in a position to have the valve duct 32 register with the passages 29 and 30 for the admission of a charge of fuel into the explosion chamber. The valve then turns in the direction indicated by the arrow, and when 4it arrives at its Fig. 4 position, the valve is closed with respect to all of the ports or passages; meanwhile the rotor has turned into the position in which it is shown in the last-named view and the abutment 16 is forced in by the relatively high pressure of the charge in the combustion chamber until said abutment is arrested b y encountering the stop 19, although the spring 22 causes the packing piece 21 to bear against the rotor surface 15.

rlhe sparking devices are timed to now fire the referred to charge and which will occur when the rotor is at or about the position shown in Fig. 4, resulting in the application of a force between the' abutment 16 and the rotor shoulder 13 to impart rotary motion to the rotor, while the force acting against the abutment will be overcome by the stop 19 against which the abutment rests. The pressure derived from the explosion of the gas continues to eHectively act upon the rotor until it is exhausted through outlet 8 subsequent to the shoulder 13 being revolubly moved thereby, as in Fig. 1. The abutment 23 .serves at this time to prevent any of the exploded gases from passing therebeyond in the cylinder.

The valve has meanwhile been turned into position (Fig. 1) whereas communication is established -through duct. 33 with the air-A supply pipe 34, resulting in a charge o f air being delivered into the' cylinder to facilitate the expulsion of the burnt gases.

Duringthe time the rotor shoulder 13 is traveling from the abutment 16 to abutment 23, the other shoulder 14 is traveling from abutment-23 to abutment. 16 until `it passes beneath the latter to thrust the same outwardly to transfer the packing piece v20 ina/Laces from the rotor surface 15 to that indicated by 151.

Any residual air which may pass by the abutment 23 in the orbital travel of the rotor shoulder 14 becomes compressed between the latter and the abutment 16 to exercise a lifting force thereupon to assist the shoulder in raising the abutment and minimize the friction of the packing piece 20 with regard to the rotor.

The invention is constructed of relatively few parts and is designed to be used in multiples upon a single shaft and arranged so that the ressures due to the explosions will be distri uted about the shaft to counteract each other and obviate as much as practicable friction at the shaft bearings.

Various changes as to details and the arrangement of the parts of the described embodiment may be made within the limits of my inventionA as donned by the appended claims.

What ll claim, is-

1. A rotary engine of the class described, comprising a cylinder having inlet and outlet ports, a rotor having peripheral surfaces of diderent radii mounted concentrically within said cylinder, a valve, means to actuate said valve for successively controlling the supply of an explosive mixture and air under pressure to the cylinder, and gas ignition devices having a sparking plug disposed between said valve and the cylinder.

2. A rotary engine of the class described having a casing provided with a cylindrical bore and a communicating explosion chamber, a rotor having peripheralnportions of dierent radii concentric to the rotor axis, an abutment movable radially of and cooperating with the rotorto direct the force due to the combustion of gases in said chamber in one circular direction only with respect to the rotor, means to ignite the explosive charges admitted to said chamber, and a valve for controlling the supply of the explosive mixture to the chamber, said valve also serving to admit air through the chamber into the cylinder bore for expelling the burnt gases therefrom.

3. A rotary engine of the class described, comprising a cylinder having s 'acedI inlet and outlet ports, a rotor rotatab y mounted in said cylinder, abutments disposed in proximity to the respective ports and movable toward and away from the rotor by the rotation of the latter, a valve located between said inlet port and the adjacent of said abutments and provided with a duct extending therethrough for the admission of fuel supplied to the engine cylinder, and means for actuating said valve independently ofv both Aof the abutments whereby said duct is brought lor a predetermined time'into register with said inlet port.

4. A rotary engine of the class described having a cylinder with a communicating explosion chamber having individual inlet connections for the explosive mixture and the air, a rotor rotatably mounted therein, said rotor being provided in its circumference with two spaced shoulders'to afford intermediate thereof peripheral portions respectively disposed at dili'erent radial distances from the axis ofthe rotor, a rotatable valve provided with two passages vextending therethrough, means to periodically actuate said valve to successively establish communication through the respective passages between the cylinder and the aforesaid inlet connection, an abutment operable in said ex- 15 plosion chamber and movable toward and from said axis, a stationary stop to limit the inward movement of said abutment, and means to lgnite charges of an` explosive m1xture admitted into said chamber at one side 2o of the abutment after the latter isseated on the stop. y

Signed at Seattle, Washington, this 10th d ay of July, 1916. l

` PHILIP D.,IIIBNER. Witnesses: PIERREYBARNES,

. JAnms E. SrRoLL. 

